Blue Jays come up big vs Royals; win 6-2

Saturday afternoon in Kansas City the Blue Jays sent out their veteran Mark Buehrle. Mark hoping to pick up his 10th win of the season as well as an attempt to bring the club back to .500. The Royals countered with their veteran pitching Chris Young.

Alcides Escobar led off the bottom of the 1st inning with a ground rule double over the wall in right center field. Mike Moustakas put down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner to 3rd base. Kendry Morales ground out but the runner on 3rd came in to score. Eric Hosmer flew out to left field to end the inning.

To start out the bottom of the 2nd inning Alex Rios was hit by a Mark Buehrle fastball. Omar Infante hit a ball off of home plate that bounced 20 feet in the air and was not playable when it reached 2nd base. Paulo Orlando put down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. Drew Butera struck out looking on only three pitches. Jarrod Dyson hit a ground ball back to Buehrle for the 3rd out to escape the jam.

Kevin Pillar led of the top of the 3rd inning with a walk. That snapped the 6 straight batters retired by Chris Young. Kevin Pillar quickly took off from 1st and stole his 13th base of the season. Ezequiel Carrera hit a ground ball to 2nd base advancing the runner to 3rd. Devin Travis hit a fly ball to shallow center field for the 2nd out. Jose Reyes drew a walk after falling behind early. Josh Donaldson ground out to short to end the inning.

Jose Bautista led off the top of the 4th with a single. Edwin Encarnacion hit a home run just over the fence in left field.  Justin Smoak struck out for the 1st out. Russell Martin dropped a bunt to 3rd base for an infield single. Kevin Pillar flied out to center field. Ezequiel Carrera struck out to end the inning.

In the top of the 5th inning Jose Reyes hit a one out single to right field. While Josh Donaldson struck out Jose Reyes took 2nd base uncontested. Jose Reyes took off and stole 3rd base for his 2nd steal of the inning. Jose Bautista flew out to center field to end the inning.

In the top of the 6th inning Justin Smoak reached base on an error to the 2nd baseman Omar Infante. Russell Martin reached 1st base on a fielder`s choice with Smoak being thrown out at 2nd base. Russell Martin was thrown out running to 2nd base on a failed hit and run attempt after Kevin Pillar swung and missed.

Danny Valencia came into the game as a defensive replacement for Josh Donaldson in the bottom of the 6th inning. With two outs Kendry Morales reached base on a fly ball that was lost in the sun by all of the fielders. Eric Hosmer ground out to short to end the inning and stranded the runner.

Kevin Pillar led off the top of the 7th inning with a single to center field. That marked the end of the game for Chris Young. Franklin Morales entered the game to pitch for the Royals. Ezequiel Carrera dropped a bunt in front of home plate but Kevin Pillar was thrown out at 2nd base, Carrera reaching on the fielder’s choice. Devon Travis hit a single to right field to put two runners on base. Both runners advanced to scoring position after a wild pitch by Franklin Morales. Jose Reyes hit a ground ball to 2nd base and drew the throw home but Carrare still scored with ease. The play officially scored as a fielder’s choice. Ryan Madson came in to pitch for the Royals. Jose Reyes stole 2nd base for his 3rd of the game. Danny Valencia struck out swinging. Jose Bautista flew out to center field to end the inning.

Alex Rios led off the bottom of the 7th inning with a double to left field. Omar Infante hit a sacrifice fly to advance the runner to 3rd base. Paulo Orlando grounded out to short allowing the runner to score from 3rd base. Drew Butera hit a single to center field with two outs. Jarrod Dyson grounded out to Buehrle to end the inning.

Luke Hochevar came in to pitch the top of the 8th inning for the Royals. Justin Smoak was issued a one out walk. Russell Martin flew out to center field for the 2nd out. Kevin Pillar was issued the 2nd walk of the inning. Ezequiel Carrera struck out to end the inning.

Bo Schultz came in to pitch the bottom of the 8th inning for the Blue Jays and picked up a 1-2-3 inning.

Brandon Finnegan came in to pitch the 9th inning for the Royals. Devon Travis led off with a single to right field. Jose Reyes hit a double into the gap in right field. Danny Valencia hit a three run home run to deep center field. Jose Bautista ground out for the 1st out of the inning. Edwin Encarnacion ground out for the 2nd out of the inning. Just Smoak picked up a single to left field. Kevin Pillar struck out to end the inning.

Roberto Osuna entered the game in a non save situation in the bottom of the 9th and closed out the game.

Game Notes:

• It took until the 4th inning to snap a scoreless streak spanning almost a full 3 games. The last run scored was in the 5th inning in Wednesdays game against the White Sox.
• Mark Buehrle was dealing today. Russell Martin called a great game as Buehrle had retired 14 straight at one point. He issued no walks and forced the Royals to hit into his defense. He was able to record his 10th win in 15 straight seasons.
• Josh Donaldson left the game in the bottom of the 6th inning. Reports were flu like symptoms. Which todays heat reaching 37C it may be heat and/or hydration related.
• Edwin Encarnacion picked up hit 18th home run of the season. That puts him on pace for 32 home runs for the season.
• Danny Valencia made the most of his time in the game. He picked up his 6th home run of the season after entering the game in the 6th.

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